Religious Education 2008-2009
Calendar -
Curriculum -
Committee -
Registration Form 
Welcome!
It is with great anticipation that we look forward to the 2008-2009 church school year. We are pleased that you and your children are taking part in our program. This booklet is both your guide to religious education and offers a brief description of the programs available this year.
The goals of our program are to provide a place where children can: feel welcome and have a sense of belonging, explore religious ideas in an open-minded community, ask questions, define and redefine their beliefs, and share their sense of wonder. We hope to create an environment that respects and celebrates diversity and offers children opportunities to translate their ideals into actions. We want our children to own their beliefs.
The seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism provide the backbone for our program.
You Are Needed!
We have a cooperative volunteer program that needs the involvement of each parent. We encourage you to find a way to share your time and talents with us and your children, show an interest in their programs and engage them in conversations about what they are learning. Please help your child attend classes regularly. You will find the benefits are multiplied.
I am looking forward to working with each of you and your children in the coming year!
Chris Parker
Director of Religious Education
Who We Are
The UU Church of Nashua Lifespan Religious Education Vision, Mission, and Values Statements
Our Vision
Our vision is a welcoming and supportive congregation that is also unique and diverse. We recognize the needs of our local and global communities and act in responsible ways.
Our Mission And Covenant
Our mission is to nurture the heart, mind, and spirit of the church family. We offer programs and opportunities for all ages that embrace the UU Principles. In this spirit, we create
- a safe and welcoming place where everyone belongs;
- a nurturing place where wonder is valued;
- an engaging place where people listen, think, question and share;
- a spiritual place where people can explore world religions;
- a joyful place where friendship, community, music, art, worship, and service are shared;
- a socially responsible place that encourages all to be engaged with issues near and far;
- a caring place for our planet earth, the home we share with all living things;
- a hopeful place;
- a peaceful place.
We will do this with honesty, creativity, kindness, compassion, and good humor.
Special Events and Services
Also see the RE Calendar
Water Service (7 September) - An intergenerational gathering that occurs the first Sunday of the church year where we bring samples of the waters from our summer journeys. A dedication is also offered at this time for our Religious Education (RE) teachers before we begin church school the following Sunday.
Winter Party / White Gifts Collection (21 December) - Students begin the morning by joining the church service for a brief period during which time the White Gifts are offered (members and friends donate gifts for the less fortunate). Afterwards, kindergarteners and older students gather to celebrate winter with crafts and snacks in the auditorium while preschoolers will meet in their own room.
Honk! Intergenerational Service (22 March) - Honk! is a musical retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen story The Ugly Duckling, mixed with a theme of pro-tolerance. Members from the congregation and the church school will join together to present this musical as the church service on the day of the Vernal Equinox.
Spring Party (12 April) - As with the Winter Party, the RE classes (Preschool-K class+) celebrate the coming of spring with crafts and refreshments after the first 15 minutes of service. Plus, we will continue the tradition of performing a service project during the get-together. Anyone with a project suggestion is welcome to contact a member of the RE Committee.
Senior High Service (26 April) - A service designed and led by the Senior High students.
Intergen Flower Service (14 June) - The last service of the year recognizes the many volunteers who give of their time and talents to our Religious Education program. A Flower Communion is held in which members of the congregation bring flowers. Everyone leaves with a different flower!
When We Meet
Sunday Church School Schedule
| 9:55 AM | Church School Classes Begin |
| 11:00 AM | Baby/Toddler Pick-Up (immediately following the service) Chapel Service Begins |
| 11:15 AM | All Classes and Chapel Dismissed |
The first meeting of the month is usually designated as a time for the children to join in the service for the first 15 minutes before attending church school. During periodic Intergenerational services, however, older children are invited to attend the full church service with their parents. Babies and toddlers meet as usual in Room 1, but there are no classes for the older children. During Sunday services when there is no church school, supervised activities are provided for those children who do not wish to attend the service.
Chapel Program
A worship program is held in the Chapel located in the Education Building. Each class attends a chapel service once or twice a month. These services are a special time for the children to meet together and share a religious experience. The services include songs, poems, and stories.
Programs
Babies/Toddlers, Room 1 (birthdays after 9-30-05)
Childcare is provided for infants and children who are still under the age of three come the end of September. We try to make this experience for our youngest children as pleasant as possible - a warm, welcoming, and secure place away from home. Our experienced caregivers, assisted by church members, take care of the youngest members of our church family.
Early Preschool (birthdays 10-1-04 to 9-30-05)
Celebrating Me and My World, Room 2
This full-year curriculum celebrates the wondrous qualities of children and the animals, objects, and people around them. Provides preschoolers with experiences and opportunities to grow in trust and caring and to develop their self-identity and sense of connectedness with all of life.
Activities are tailored for this age group, so please dress the children for active play and sometimes-messy crafts. Also, prepare your refrigerator for new artwork!
Preschool & Kindergarten (birthdays 10-1-02 to 9-30-04)
We Are Many, We Are One, Room 4
Stories, games and projects encourage children to honor themselves, their religious community, nature and cultures from around the world.
First Grade
Special Places, Sacred Spaces, Room 5
The students in this curriculum will be encouraged to become "at home" in the world through a variety of buildings and living in different kinds of homes. They will address a variety of life situations: birth, death, fears, and relationships.
Second Grade
Exploring the Web of Life, Room 11
Children explore the ways that specific living things relate to the rest of life -- what the earthworm eats, what eats it, what it contributes to the soil, how that helps plants and helps us who grow food in that soil. Concepts come to life through direct experience. Throughout the curriculum, our spiritual connection with all living things is brought out. A closing ritual at the end of each session helps the children internalize their learning, sometimes with a story that summarizes the day's experience.
Third Grade
Timeless Themes, Room 9-10
The best-known stories in religious literature are presented to the children in this curriculum, providing a base of knowledge essential to the understanding of their religious heritage. Timeless themes that inspired the scriptures, such as power, responsibility, freedom, love and forgiveness, are explored.
Fourth &Fifth Grades
Heart Talk for Kids, Room 7
The goal of Heart Talk for Kids is to empower children to create peaceful relationships by seeing the worth and dignity of all people, including themselves. The curriculum teaches communication skills based on Marshall Rosenberg's model of Nonviolent Communication
Sixth Grade
Neighboring Faiths, Room 6
Now that students have explored Unitarian Universalism in earlier grades, their knowledge is broadened to include the belief systems of other religions. Field trips are arranged to places of worship, locally and in the Boston area, to gain an understanding of different religious practices. Parent volunteers will be invited to join these classes to help transport students and share these enriching experiences.
Seventh & Eighth Grades
Our Whole Lives (OWL), Youth Room
The program is a human sexuality curriculum jointly developed between the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the United Church of Christ (UCC). It is a series of comprehensive, age-appropriate curricula, which help participants make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health and behavior.
Senior High
Youth Group meets Sunday evenings from 6 - 8pm in the Youth Room.
R.E. for Sr. High transitions into "Youth Empowerment." Our youth group provides opportunities to develop leadership skills, strengthens a sense of community, offers peer support and a chance to travel and meet other UU Youth. We play games, hear guest speakers and participate in workshops and topic-led discussions. We are involved in outreach and fundraising and work on life skills.
Youth are encouraged to participate in leading the group and/or being a part of the decisions regarding what direction the group will go in.
Youth group provides a safe and comfortable environment to explore and nurture the questions and beliefs of those who participate.
Our UU Principles
Each and every person is important;
All people should be treated fairly and kindly;
We should accept one another and keep on learning together;
Each person must be free to search for what is true and right in life;
All persons should have a vote about the things that concern them;
Working for a peaceful, fair and free world;
Caring for our planet earth, the home we share with all living things.
The Sources of Our Principles
Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.
Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.
Religious Education Committee
Director: Chris Parker
Minister: Steve Edington
Church Phone: 882-1091
Members
Cindy Hudson (Chair)
Laurie Conrad
Donna LaRue
Mickeline Saunders
Barbara Berrios (Adult RE)
Nona Storer (Volunteer Coordinator)